Migrants Organise is proud to co-publish with the NRPF Network, a guidance on Supporting Migrants Lacking Mental Capacity in Relation to Immigration Matters. You can read the report here.
This guidance is co authored by Brian Dikoff, Legal Organiser at Migrants Organise, who coordinates our Migrants Mental Capacity Advocacy Project, Catherine Houlcroft, Principal Project Officer at NRPF Network, and Andrea Davies, an Approved Mental Health Professional at RBKC and Westminster. We are also grateful to Alex Ruck Keene KC (Hon) from 39EssexChambers for his invaluable input and guidance.
This guidance is aimed largely at statutory social and mental health services who are working with migrants with issues with their mental capacity to engage with the immigration process. Providing support around immigration can often be a crucial element of a person’s holistic support plan to improve their welfare and wellbeing. This however can be extremely difficult to achieve if the person in question has difficulties with their mental capacity in relation to immigration matters.
In this guidance, we have provided a framework on how to assess mental capacity in relation to immigration matters, including the different decisions that a person needs to make in order to resolve their immigration issues. We also covered the steps that can be taken by statutory services if a person does lack the mental capacity to make immigration decisions.
This guidance will also be relevant to immigration practitioners, and anyone else who is working with vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers with mental health issues.
We hope that this guidance will be a useful resource and we would very much welcome any feedback from practitioners.
We intend to hold an event around this publication in early 2023—stay tuned for more details! Should you have any questions in the meantime, please contact Brian at brian [at] migrantsorganise [dot] org.
The Migrants Mental Capacity Advocacy (MMCA) Project at Migrants Organise is a strategic project which provides direct, holistic support for migrants and asylum seekers facing issues with their mental
capacity in relation to immigration matters. Learn more about the MMCA Project here.
